Genetic variations of CYP2R1 (rs10741657) in Bangladeshi adults with low serum 25(OH)D level—A pilot study

Background Some studies revealed that despite having sufficient sun exposure and dietary supply, the level of serum 25(OH)D in Bangladeshi adults is lower than its normal range. Genetic pattern of an individual is also an essential factor that regulates the level of serum 25(OH)D. However, the genetic variations of CYP2R1 (rs10741657) and their association with low serum 25(OH)D level in Bangladeshi adults are yet to be explored. Objective This study was conducted to determine the frequency of variants of rs10741657 of CYP2R1 gene and its association with low serum 25(OH)D level among Bangladeshi adults. Method This pilot study was conducted among thirty individuals with low serum 25(OH)D level as the study population and ten subjects with sufficient serum 25(OH)D level as controls based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Genetic analysis of rs10741657 of CYP2R1 including primer designing, DNA extraction, PCR of target region with purification and Sanger sequencing of the PCR products were done accordingly. For statistical analysis, One-way ANOVA followed by LSD test, Freeman-Halton extension of Fisher’s exact test, Chi-square test (χ2) test and unpaired student t-test were performed. Results In this study, genetic variants of CYP2R1 (rs10741657) among the study population were genotype GG (63.30%), GA (30%) and AA (6.7%). Minor allele frequency of the study population was 0.217. The association between GG and GA genotypes of CYP2R1 (rs10741657) with low serum 25(OH)D level among the study population was found and it was statistically significant. Statistically significant differences were also observed between the genotypes and alleles of the study population and controls. Conclusions The presence of ‘GG’ and ‘GA’ genotypes of rs1041657 in CYP2R1 gene is associated with low serum 25(OH)D level among Bangladeshi adults in this pilot study.

Variation in tube voltage for pediatric neck 64VCT: Effect on radiation dose and image quality

Exposure to ionizing radiation can cause cancer, especially in children. In computed tomography (CT), a trade-off exists between the radiation dose and image quality. Few studies have investigated the effect of dose reduction on image quality in pediatric neck CT. We aimed to assess the effect of peak kilovoltage on the radiation dose and image quality in pediatric neck multidetector-row CT. Measurements were made using three phantoms representative of children aged 1, 5, and 10 years, with tube voltages of 80, 100, and 120 kilovoltage peak (kVp); tube current of 10, 40, 80, 120, 150, 200, and 250 mA; and exposure time = 0.5 s (pitch, 0.984:1). Radiation dose estimates were derived from the dose-length product with a 64-multidetector-row CT scanner. Images obtained from the control protocol (120 kVp) were compared with the 80- and 100-kVp protocols. The effective dose (ED) was determined for each protocol and compared with the 120-kVp protocol. Quantitative analysis entailed noise measurements by recording the standard deviation of attenuation for a circular 1-cm2 region of interest placed on homogeneous soft tissue structures in the phantom. The mean noise of the various kVp protocols was compared using the unpaired Student t-test. Reduction of ED was 37.58% and 68.58% for neck CT with 100 kVp and 80 kVp, respectively. The image noise level increased with the decrease in peak kilovoltage. Noise values were higher at 80 kVp at all neck levels, but did not increase at 100 kVp, compared to 120 kVp in the three phantoms. The measured noise difference was the greatest at 80 kVp (absolute increases<2.5 HU). The subjective image quality did not differ among the protocols. Thus, reducing voltage from 120 to 80 kVp for neck CT may achieve ED reduction of 68.58%, without compromising image quality.

The impact of COVID-19 related national lockdown on ophthalmic emergency in Italy: A multicenter study

Purpose: To assess ocular pathologies admitted to Italian Emergency Eye Departments (EEDs) during the COVID-19 pandemic national lockdown in 2020 in comparison with the same period in 2019. Methods: Electronic records of all patients presenting at EEDs of two tertiary-care Eye Centers during the COVID-19 national lockdown in Italy (March 10–May 3, 2020) were compared with the equivalent period in 2019. Main outcomes were patient age, gender, and diagnoses. Statistical analysis included unpaired Student t-tests, Poisson regression, and chi-square test. Results: Overall EED visits significantly decreased by 54.1% during the 2020 lockdown compared to 2019 (851 vs 1854, p < 0.001). During lockdown, patients showed comparable mean age (52.8 years in 2020 vs 53.3 years in 2019, p = 0.52) and significant male gender bias (61.1% in 2020 vs 55.8% in 2019, p < 0.0001). The most frequent pathologies were eye inflammations, trauma-related incidents, and spontaneous acute vitreous detachment. Patients with inflammation, headache/hemicrania, and spontaneous subconjunctival hemorrhages were significantly less, whereas those with trauma-related diagnoses were significantly higher during the lockdown as compared with 2019 ( p < 0.05). The proportion of non-urgent visits decreased from 17% in 2019 to 8% in 2020 ( p < 0.001). Conclusions: During the 2020 lockdown, there was a significant reduction of accesses to EED, especially for non-urgent pathologies. Potentially visual function threatening conditions, such as trauma-related pathologies, retinal detachment or ruptures, and wet AMD, showed lower number of cases but higher or stable proportion relative to the total caseload, suggesting a correct and efficient access to ophthalmic health care during the pandemic period.

Comparative effect of mixture of ginger and honey with dextromethorphan in dry cough in children

Background: Cough is protective reflex caused by obstruction or irritation of airway. Many medication available for the treatment of dry cough. But it causes sedation and drowsiness in children. Considering the adverse effects produce by the medication, we consider this study as the ginger and honey is used in Indian family, and in Ayurveda ginger and honey is used for treatment of dry and productive cough.Methods: We include the patients who attended the pediatric OPD complaining dry cough. We design the questionnaire and for the measuring the severity of dry cough. We divide the patient into four groups received standard treatment and ginger and honey mixture. We compared the end result with standard treatment statistically by using unpaired student “t” test was used along with two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) test.Results: We include 100 patient in this study. We got amazing result of this study ginger and honey required less time for recovery and also sedation and drowsiness not occurred in the ginger and honey group as compared to dextromethorphan (p value ˂0.005).Conclusions: After seeing above encouraging result, and along with advantage of natural product with no adverse we can advise the honey and ginger therapy for treatment of dry cough.

ReportFlow: an application for EEG visualization and reporting using cloud platform

Background The cloud is a promising resource for data sharing and computing. It can optimize several legacy processes involving different units of a company or more companies. Recently, cloud technology applications are spreading out in the healthcare setting as well, allowing to cut down costs for physical infrastructures and staff movements. In a public environment the main challenge is to guarantee the patients’ data protection. We describe a cloud-based system, named ReportFlow, developed with the aim to improve the process of reporting and delivering electroencephalograms. Methods We illustrate the functioning of this application through a use-case scenario occurring in an Italian hospital, and describe the corresponding key encryption and key management used for data security guarantee. We used the X2 test or the unpaired Student t test to perform pre-post comparisons of some indexes, in order to evaluate significant changes after the application of ReportFlow. Results The results obtained through the use of ReportFlow show a reduction of the time for exam reporting (t = 19.94; p < 0.001) and for its delivering (t = 14.95; p < 0.001), as well as an increase of the number of neurophysiologic examinations performed (about 20%), guaranteeing data integrity and security. Moreover, 68% of exam reports were delivered completely digitally. Conclusions The application resulted to be an optimal solution to optimize the legacy process adopted in this scenario. The comparative pre-post analysis showed promising preliminary results of performance. Future directions will be the creation and release of certificates automatically.

Comparison of intermittent audit vs daily documentation of pharmacist interventions

Purpose To compare an intermittent audit method vs a daily documentation method with regard to the number of interventions documented by clinical pharmacists in the hospital setting. Methods A 2-phase pre-post cohort study was conducted at an academic hospital to compare numbers and types of pharmacist interventions documented over an 18-month period before implementation of a daily documentation method (the “pre-phase” period) and during the 6 months after implementation (the “post-phase” period). During the pre-phase period (January 2018 to July 2019), pharmacists prospectively documented interventions on specific audit days. The audit days occurred at approximately monthly intervals. During the post-phase period (July 2019 to March 2020) pharmacists used electronic medical record tools to document interventions daily. The primary outcome was the total number of interventions per day. Values for the pre- and post-phase periods were compared using an unpaired Student t test and through interrupted time series analysis. Results There were a total of 3,628 interventions (on 14 intermittent audit days) during the pre-phase period and 9,300 interventions (on 163 continuous days) in the post-phase period. The mean (SD) number of reported interventions per day decreased from 259 (82) in the pre-phase period to 57 (33) in the post-phase period (P &lt; 0.001). The mean (SD) number of daily reported interventions per pharmacist decreased from 24 (5) in the pre-phase period to 6 (2) in the post-phase period (P &lt; 0.001). This decrease was consistent with results of the interrupted time series analysis. There was a decrease in reported interventions at the time of implementation (change from most recent audit day, –125 interventions; 95% confidence interval [CI], –187 to –62 interventions; P &lt; 0.001). Similarly, there was a decrease in reported interventions per pharmacist at the time of implementation (change from most recent audit day, –22 [95% CI, –26 to –18] interventions; P &lt; 0.001). Conclusion A change from intermittent audits to daily documentation of interventions resulted in an approximately 5-fold decrease in the number of interventions recorded by pharmacists.

Association between categorization of emotionally-charged and neutral visual scenes and parameters of event-related potentials in carriers of different COMT, HTR2A, BDNF gene genotypes

Background: This study aimed to discover the association between parameters of event-related potentials (ERPs) and categorization of images of visual scenes, both emotionally-charged and neutral, in carriers of different genotypes of the COMT, HTR2A, BDNF genes. Methods: Electroencephalogram (EEG) and ERPs were recorded at 128 leads, with two ear referents. Images of different visual scenes were presented to the study participants sequentially on a monitor screen. The participants’ task was to examine these images and indicate what emotions (negative, neutral or positive) they elicit. Comparison of event-related potentials was carried out using unpaired Student t-test in EEGLAB toolbox. Results: COMT. A stronger reaction, as reflected in the amplitude of the ERPs, in participants with the recessive homozygous Met/Met genotype was observed on latency around 200 ms to the stimuli, assessed as positive. Carriers of dominant homozygous Val/Val genotype had higher amplitude of 200 ms peak when assessed scene images as either neutral or negative in comparison to other genotypes. Participant with the Val/Met heterozygous genotype had higher amplitude of ERP that Met/Met group on same latency when assessed stimuli as negative. HTR2A. Significant increase in negativity in the parietal-occipital regions revealed in the range of 350-420 ms in participants with the recessive homozygous A/A genotype when choosing any type of assessment, compared to carriers of the heterozygous genotype A/G and the dominant homozygous G/G genotype. BDNF. Participants with Val/Val genotype categorized the visual images more thoroughly, as reflected in greater activation of the parietal-occipital zones and higher amplitude on ERP peak on 190 ms (negative assessment) and 160 ms (neutral assessment) then Val/Met carriers. Conclusions: The COMT, HTR2A, BDNF gene different genotypes are associated with the process of categorizing emotionally charged and neutral visual scenes, and this relationship is reflected in the ERP parameters.

Association between categorization of emotionally-charged and neutral visual scenes and parameters of event-related potentials in carriers of COMT, HTR2A, BDNF gene polymorphisms

Background: This study aimed to discover the association between parameters of event-related potentials (ERPs) and categorization of images of visual scenes, both emotionally-charged and neutral, in carriers of polymorphisms of the COMT, HTR2A, BDNF genes. Methods: Electroencephalogram (EEG) and ERPs were recorded at 128 leads, with two ear referents. Images of different visual scenes were presented to the study participants sequentially on a monitor screen. The participants’ task was to examine these images and indicate what emotions (negative, neutral or positive) they elicit. Comparison of event-related potentials was carried out using unpaired Student t-test in EEGLAB toolbox. Results: COMT. A stronger reaction, as reflected in the amplitude of the ERPs, in participants with the recessive homozygous Met/Met genotype was observed on latency around 200 ms to the stimuli, assessed as positive. Carriers of dominant homozygous Val/Val genotype had higher amplitude of 200 ms peak when assessed scene images as either neutral or negative in comparison to other genotypes. Participant with the Val/Met heterozygous genotype had higher amplitude of ERP that Met/Met group on same latency when assessed stimuli as negative. HTR2A. Significant increase in negativity in the parietal-occipital regions revealed in the range of 350-420 ms in participants with the recessive homozygous A/A genotype when choosing any type of assessment, compared to carriers of the heterozygous genotype A/G and the dominant homozygous G/G genotype. BDNF. Participants with Val/Val genotype categorized the visual images more thoroughly, as reflected in greater activation of the parietal-occipital zones and higher amplitude on ERP peak on 190 ms (negative assessment) and 160 ms (neutral assessment) then Val/Met carriers. Conclusions: The COMT, HTR2A, BDNF gene polymorphisms are associated with the process of categorizing emotionally charged and neutral visual scenes, and this relationship is reflected in the ERP parameters.

Physico-Chemical and Sensorial Properties of a New Beverages Obtained from Wild Mountain Cranberry (VacciniumVitis-Idaea)

This study aimed to characterize a new product obtained from wild mountain cranberry, namely mountain cranberry cider, in terms of physico-chemical properties, antioxidant activity, polyphenols content, mineral elements and sensory acceptability and the results obtained were compared with those of mountain cranberry juice. The characterization of these products gives the opportunity to valorization the precious bioactive compounds from mountain cranberries in all the seasons. HPLC results of the mountain cranberry cider show a higher content of chlorogenic (25.11 mg/100 mL) and gallic (16.04 mg/100 mL) acids than cranberry juice which has lower values (10.21 mg/100 mL chlorogenic and 7.16 mg/100 mL gallic acids). Sensorial analyses results of the both products indicated that the characteristics of the mountain cranberry cider have a higher score for the most of sensory characteristics than the juice, except for the color. Statistical analysis of Unpaired Student-T test was used to determine if there are significant differences between the obtained data for the two products; a significant difference at a level of p[0.001 was emphasis for color parameters, concentration of soluble substances, turbidity and a lower difference (p[0.01) was recorded for radical scavenging effect.

Efficacy of Topical Finasteride 0.5% vs 17α-Estradiol 0.05% in the Treatment of Postmenopausal Female Pattern Hair Loss: A Retrospective, Single-Blind Study of 119 Patients

Background and Objectives: Female pattern hair loss (FPHL) is a common form of scalp hair loss that occurs in 38% of females. Currently, minoxidil solution is the only therapy approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, but many other treatments are used, including cyproterone acetate, spironolactone, topical 17α-estradiol, and prostaglandin analogs. Systemic finasteride has been considered a treatment option in women even though its teratogenic effects tend to limit its prescription. Recently, topical finasteride has been evaluated to limit the side effect profile of the drug. The objective of the present study is to compare retrospectively the efficacy of topical 0.05% 17α-estradiol solution and a 0.5% finasteride lotion in the treatment of FPHL. Patients and Methods: We enrolled 119 postmenopausal female patients. The first group comprised 69 women treated with finasteride 0.5% and minoxidil 2%. The second group included 50 women treated with 17α-estradiol 0.05% and minoxidil 2%. At baseline and at 6- and 12- to 18-month follow-up, global photographs were systematically taken. Three operators blind to the prescribed treatment evaluated photographs using a 7-point scale. One-way analysis of variance and unpaired Student t tests were performed to analyze 7-point scale scores. Results: The improvement was statistically significant from 6 months to 12-18 months, both for finasteride (P < 0.005) and 17α-estradiol (P < 0.05). The efficacy of topical finasteride was significantly greater than that of 17α-estradiol solution, both at the 6-month (P < 0.05) and at the 12- to 18-month follow-up (P < 0.005). In general, the highest improvement was observed after 12-18 months of treatment with topical finasteride therapy. Conclusions: Topical finasteride 0.5% in combination with minoxidil 2% could represent a valid therapeutic option for the treatment of postmenopausal FPHL, showing higher efficacy than topical 17α-estradiol with minoxidil 2% both at 6-month and 12- to 18-month follow-up.